


different kind of courage

by eliotkeats



Category: Everyman HYBRID
Genre: Gen, Pre-Canon, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-30
Updated: 2017-07-30
Packaged: 2018-12-08 19:29:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11653191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eliotkeats/pseuds/eliotkeats
Summary: It took Vince almost a full hour to work up the courage to say something.





	different kind of courage

It took Vince almost a full hour to work up the courage to say something, sitting on the couch in his basement, shoulder to shoulder with Evan, fingers moving frantically on the plastic controllers they were both clutching, his jeans scratching over the sticky patch on the upholstery where they'd spilled orange soda last week.

"Hey, Evan?" he asked, and immediately regretted how unsure he sounded. "Uh, Evan?"

"Yo?" Evan replied, attention still focused on the game.

"I, uh, wanted to tell you something."  Vince could already feel his face heating up with anxiety.  

"Shoot."

"I've been thinking about maybe going by a different name,” he managed, and then ducked his head and pretended to be concentrating very hard on the game.

Evan mashed a few buttons on his controller.  "Different name?" he asked, sounding distracted.

Vince cleared his throat.  "Yeah, I --"

"Why?"

"I just. I don't know, I just. Don't ... feel ... like the old one fits anymore."  Vince pushed his glasses higher on the bridge of his nose and surreptitiously checked to sure he’s not dripping sweat.

Evan hummed in acknowledgement.  "Fair enough. What name you thinkin' of using?"

"I don't know," Vince said, briskly, staring hard at the screen to try and direct attention back to the video game. He cleared his throat and, attempting to sound casual, said, "I kind of like Vince, actually."

Evan paused the game and turned to him, eyebrows raised. "Vince. Like, as in, Vincent?"

Vince shrunk back. "Um. It was just an idea."

"Why the fuck do you wanna be called Vincent?" Evan asked, flat, but also with a lot less venom than Vince had laid awake the night before trying not to think about.

"I think I might ... be a guy," Vince confessed, in a panicked rush, like ripping off a band-aid.

Evan paused the game and turned to look at Vince, who nervously twisted the hem of his shirt.  "Like. What.”  Evan gestured helplessly.  “You think you're, like, um, that thing you told me about weeks ago. Trans?"

Vince nodded, holding his breath.

Evan sucked his lower lip in between his teeth. "Uh, sure you're not, like ... shit, I don't know. A dyke?"

"No, that's—”  Vince’s face prickled all over with heat and he fumbled for words.  “— that’s not it at all. I still like guys, y'know? I just, I feel like one."

Evan nodded. "Vincent, huh?"

"Yep."

"Vince," Evan said, like he was considering it, then,"Vinny," dragging the end vowel out between his teeth. "Vin." He assumed an exaggerated Italian accent, growled, "Vincenzo," and chuckled when Vince laughed involuntarily. "I guess I can get used to that."

The basement was quiet for the next few minutes, only the muted sounds of the video game explosions filling the silence.

Evan yawned and stretched his legs out in front of him. "So, what you gonna do with your tits?"

Vince blushed and looked down at his breasts, ruefully. Even with doubled up sports bras, there was still a prominent bulge visible beneath his baggy polo shirt. "Surgery, hopefully."

"Shit, you're just gonna cut them off?" Evan laughs. "Fuck, that's fucking hardcore, man."

Evan tosses the end of the sentence out, casual, not even thinking about it, and Vince's breath catches in his chest. He glances sideways at Evan, who isn't even looking at him, eyes trained intently on the TV, mashing down on the controller's buttons.

"How'd Jeff react?"

Vince didn't reply, just pushed his glasses higher on the bridge of his nose, his rounded cheeks flushing red.

Evan glanced at him. "You ain't told him yet," he said, incredulous. "Why the fuck--"

"I will, I just..." Vince sighed and continued, quieter, "What if he takes it badly, or his parents won't let us be friends anymore, or Alex - if they think I'm a bad influence on him --"

"That's a shitload of ifs, dontcha think?"

"I guess," Vince muttered.

"Hey, uh. Vinny." Vince turned to look at Evan. Evan rested the video game controller on his knee and made eye contact with Vince. "All this --" He made a vague gesture with both hands, encompassing the outline of Vince's body. "-- is weird shit and I, uh, don't relate." He laughed. "Like, at all," he added, then his expression grew serious, in the self-conscious, trying to be sincere, hyper-aware of the fact he was displaying emotions, that Vince had gotten so used to. "But, you and Jeff, you're my best friends, and, uh, I got no plans for losing either of you anytime soon. You know?" He bumped Vince's shoulder with his own. "I'm here for you, man."

Vince blinked back tears, saw that Evan was about five seconds away from making some excuse to leave, hating when people cry, so he leaned forward and pulled Evan into a hug, his face buried against Evan's shoulder.

"Shit, dude, watch the controllers," Evan muttered. He awkwardly patted Vince's shoulder. "Love ya too, buddy. Wanna let go now?"

**Author's Note:**

> i dug this, unfinished, out of the depths of my gdocs. 
> 
> shoulda left it there maybe


End file.
